Book Extract: A Mirror Murder by Helen Hollick

I’m excited to be welcoming Helen Hollick to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, A Mirror Murder, the first instalment in The Jan Christopher Cozy Mystery Series.

The first in a series of quick-read, cozy mysteries set during the 1970s in North East London and North Devon, featuring the characters of Jan Christopher, her Aunt Madge, her uncle, DCI Toby Christopher and romantic interest DC Lawrence Walker – plus several other endearing, regular characters.

The background of Jan’s career as a library assistant is based on the author’s own library years during the 1970s, using many borrowed (often hilarious!) anecdotes, her life in suburban north east London on the edge of Epping Forest, and her present life in rural North Devon…

July 1971

Eighteen-year-old library assistant Jan Christopher’s life is to change on a rainy evening, when her legal guardian and uncle, DCI Toby Christopher, gives her a lift home after work. Driving the car, is her uncle’s new Detective Constable, Lawrence Walker – and it is love at first sight for the young couple. But romance is soon to take a back seat when a baby boy is taken from his pram, a naked man is scaring young ladies in nearby Epping Forest, and an elderly lady is found, brutally murdered… Are the events related? How will they affect the staff and public of the local library where Jan works – will romance survive and blossom between library assistant Jan Christopher and DC Walker? Or will a brutal murder intervene?

There’s some more information on the upcoming novels in the series below but first, Helen has shared an extract from A Mirror Murder with us today. We hope you enjoy it. 

*****beginning of extract*****

CHAPTER TWO

Summer 1971

Detective Constable Walker

(It’s home time after a long day at work for young library assistant, Jan Christopher…)

The heavens opened as my colleague, Gloria, and I walked out onto the paved area in front of the library with its stone walled rose beds and a wooden bench on the far side; a nice place to sit and eat a sandwich lunch on days when the sun bothered to pay us a visit. Or, in Gloria’s case, to puff on a Dunhill cigarette. Gloria opened her see-through umbrella and pulled up the collar of her vinyl mac, shouted goodbye, and ran off to where her boyfriend, Eddie, was waiting in his battered Mini van with its distinctive psychedelic yellow, blue and green swirls painted across the back doors. I stood a moment, getting wet, wondering whether to walk home, or run for the bus stop. Was it worth paying a fare for such a short ride? On the other hand, the walk would be up hill, and the rain was cold, and there was a lot of it.

Then I heard my name being called. A middle-aged, smartly dressed man was getting out of a white car, beckoning me: “Jan! Jan – over here!”

Oh joy! I trotted towards him, my sandals and tights getting even more soaked from the expanding puddles.

“Uncle Toby! Am I glad to see you!” I grinned as he opened the rear door of his Jaguar and I climbed in, mindful of my soggy apparel getting the leather seat damp. I pulled a tartan blanket over from the other side, and sat on that.

My uncle settled himself in the front passenger seat and waved his hand informally at the young man sitting behind the steering wheel. “This is my new temporary Detective Constable,” he said. “DC Lawrence Walker, meet my niece, Jan Christopher.”

I smiled, and DC Walker turned round to smile back and hold out his hand for me to shake.

“Pleased to meet you, miss.” He had a nice voice, with a slight accent, which I couldn’t place.

“And you, Detective Constable, although I hope you don’t end up with a broken leg, like the man you are covering for has done!”

Uncle Toby snorted laughter. “That accident was not my fault. DC Stanbridge fell off a ladder while decorating his kitchen, or that’s what he said happened. Rumour has it that, actually, he tripped over his cat.”

DC Walker started the engine, put the car in gear, and, indicating, looked round to ensure it was safe to move off. “Where do we take the young lady, sir?” he asked, smiling into the mirror so I could see his grey eyes shining at me.

“Oh, Jan lives with my good lady wife and myself,” my uncle explained. “Has done ever since her father, my brother, passed away.”

Walker’s smile wavered slightly into a small frown.

Don’t say it I thought. Don’t say that you’ve heard of my dad, DI Christopher, who was shot dead by a person or persons unknown when I was a child.

To ensure he didn’t, I said quickly, “Anyone ever told you that you look like Cary Grant?”

DC Walker laughed, “Grant in his younger years, I hope! But yes, I’m told it often. It’s the cleft in my chin that does it, I think.”

*****end of extract*****

About Helen Hollick:

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and  fiction blend together.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon – even if you don’t believe in ghosts you might enjoy the snippets of interesting history and the many location photograhs.

Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, chasing the peacocks away from her roses, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…

Say hello to Helen via her website, Facebook, X, her Amazon Author Page and BlueSky. You can also find out more via the Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse blog. and Of  History and Kings.

A Mirror Murder is available to buy via Amazon.

*****

More about the upcoming novels in the series: 

Episode 2: A MYSTERY OF MURDER – set in rural Devon, Christmas 1971

Library Assistant Jan Christopher is to spend Christmas in Devon with her boyfriend, DS Laurie Walker and his family, but when a murder is discovered, followed by a not very accidental accident, the traditional Christmas spirit is somewhat marred…What happened to Laurie’s ex-girlfriend? Where is the vicar’s wife? Who took those old photographs? And will the farmer up the lane ever mend those broken fences?

“There are lots of things to enjoy in the second in the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series” Best-selling cozy mystery author Debbie Young

“A laid back sort of novel, the kind that you can relax while reading, and simply let the story happen. This author has a particularly unique style of writing… this book wasn’t simply a story, but an experience. You almost have the feeling that the author is reading the book to you, and is adding in her own little quips every now and again. I loved every second… The whole mystery is well thought out… utterly amazing!” Review: I Got Lost In A Book Blog

“The pace is gently cosy, despite the murder… Jan is a wonderful character; young, naïve, but also savvy when needed. And Laurie is a gem. All the characters and their foibles and actions stay true to the era… a lovely, warm story.” Review: Ruins & Reading

Episode 3 A MISTAKE OF MURDER

Was murder deliberate – or a tragic mistake?

Episode 4 A MEADOW MURDER

Make hay while the sun shines? But what happens when a murder is discovered, and country life is disrupted?

Episode 5 A MEMORY OF MURDER

A missing girl, annoying decorators, circus performers and a wanna-be rock star to deal with. But who remembers the brutal, cold case murder of a policeman?

Episode 6 A MISCHIEF OF MURDER

The village Flower and Veg Show should be a fun annual event – but who added mischief and murder to the traditional schedule?

More reviews for Helen’s novels: 

“I sank into this gentle cosy mystery story with the same enthusiasm and relish as I approach a hot bubble bath, (in fact this would be a great book to relax in the bath with!), and really enjoyed getting to know the central character…” Debbie Young bestselling cozy mystery author

“Jan is a charming heroine. You feel you get to know her and her love of books and her interest in the people in the library where she works. She’s also funny, and her Aunt Madge bursts with character – the sort of aunt I would love to have had. I remember the 70s very well and Ms Hollick certainly gives a good flavour of the period.” Denise Barnes (bestselling romance author Molly Green)

“A delightful read about an unexpected murder in North East London. Told from the viewpoint of a young library assistant, the author draws on her own experience to weave an intriguing tale” Richard Ashen (South Chingford Community Library)

“Lots of nostalgic, well-researched, detail about life in the 1970s, which readers of a certain age will lap up; plus some wonderful, and occasionally hilarious, ‘behind the counter’ scenes of working in a public library, which any previous or present-day library assistant will recognise!” Reader’s Review

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.